"Denny Hamlin's Controversial Victory: NASCAR's Decision and Keselowski's Response"
NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer acknowledged that Denny Hamlin's overtime restart at Richmond could have resulted in a different call if it had occurred earlier in the race, but no penalty was issued despite Hamlin rolling early. Sawyer explained that late-race restarts are a "bang-bang call" and that the leader has the right to start within the restart zone. Hamlin defended his actions on his podcast, stating that he was focused on timing his competitors' runs and not looking at the flagman or his dash, ultimately trying to negate their advantage on the final restart.